As part of Navy Week in Milwaukee, Rear Admiral Matthew Pottenburgh, commander of the U.S. Naval Service Training Command, made two stops at UWM on Wednesday to highlight the Navy’s partnership with UWM on educating veterans and in research to advance all-electric ships.
UWM is Wisconsin’s top destination campus for student veterans. And the Navy has funded research on electric ships – work that will contribute to a more reliable U.S. electrical grid for everyone.
Robert Cuzner, professor of electrical engineering, hosted a tour of his lab for Pottenburgh, UWM Provost Andrew Daire, UWM Vice Provost for Research Ali Abedi and Andy Graettinger, associate dean for research at the College of Engineering & Applied Science.
“There’s really not a naval ship that doesn’t have some kind of equipment on them that are specifically related to shipboard electrification,” Pottenburgh said. “And that research begins right here at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.”
Devices for electric ships could curb outages on land and sea
The U.S. Navy wants to move to smaller, all-electric ships because they are more efficient, pollute less and require less maintenance than traditional ships. Shipboard energy systems, when they are out of port, must provide their own power generation. Battery energy storage and unique power and energy conversion and delivery equipment mitigate the possibility of power outages to critical parts of the ship.
Cuzner specializes in devices and components that make up the unique power energy conversion and delivery equipment on ship. The technology that enables all of this is power electronics. Advances in power semiconductors and their application to circuits and devices make it possible to install equipment into electric ships having a smaller footprint.
“What makes UWM unique is our connection to local industry partners who manufacture this equipment and our ability to develop and test this equipment,” Cuzner said. “We can literally scale up systems in size and scope to the level needed to power a ship or any installation.”
As a result, the researchers are gaining insights that not only aid engineers in the design and integration of equipment for ships but also how to help industry partners apply the same technologies needed to modernize the aging on-land electrical grid in the face of rising demand.
Cuzner has been involved in the Navy’s quest for next-generation, all-electric ships for the last decade through UWM’s Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems. His lab’s current funding from the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Command stands at $3 million.
What are power electronics?
Electrical systems involve more than power plants generating the current. Energy needs to be stored for use later and distributed to where it’s needed. The current also must be controlled and managed. The voltage must be stepped up or down or modified to be compatible with the existing grid.
The power electronics-based systems that Cuzner is researching and testing accomplish these tasks. They are needed to make the on-land grid “smart,” where all parts of the system communicate in real time, and to integrate renewables sources into the grid.
The lab works with nearly 20 companies, such as Leonardo DRS, Eaton, Rehlko and Watt-EV, to bring these devices to the market for a wide range of applications. Many of those companies hire UWM graduates.
University provides support
Pottenburgh also visited UWM’s Military and Veterans Resource Center. The center brings together all the services for military and veteran students into one spot, including the Military Education Benefits Office and the VetSuccess on Campus office, as well as a lounge space and a quiet study computer lab.
The director of the center, Yolanda Medina, noted that MAVRC plays an important role in providing community for students who are veterans or in the military, both while in school and afterward. That sense of community is important, she said.
“We want to constantly remind our students that we’re not only here when you step through the door onto campus, but when you walk out the door as well,” she said. “We’re going to maintain connection with our alumni for as long as we can, as long as they let us.”
UWM enrolls more than 1,200 veterans and military members, more than any other university in the region. UWM has been recognized as one of the top military friendly universities in the country for the last several years.
Pottenburgh expressed appreciation for the services UWM provides. That’s not always the case, he said, noting that he has three children who attend other universities.
“That is absolutely meaningful because veterans need to feel welcome and appreciated, and then they bring themselves and their GI Bill benefits here to grow and learn,” he said. “So, thank you so very much.”
